The Lesser of Two Evils
by Prime627
Summary: Starscream and Nightshade's sparklings are growing up. Their lives are nearly going back to normal until Megatron takes a sudden fancy in Starscream. A series of events lands him in the arms of another mech. Now he has to answer the question: Does he stay with a mech that fragging loves him or with the one that loves fragging him? /Comes after Secrets and Lies
1. Chapter 1

Starscream smuggled his sons into his room, smiling down at the Seekerlings. "Mama's gone on a patrol, little ones," he purrs. "You have to be quiet with me, okay?" He soothed their whimpers as they were set on his berth. "It's nicer than Mama's, huh? Since your daddy's second-in-command, I get better things than the lower ranking officers." He sat down beside the runt, Firefall.  
>He blinked red optics up at his father and squeaked, giving him a big denta-less smile. "Hai, Dada!"<br>The Seeker's wings trembled with pride and he picked his son up, petting his helm as the speakers in his room and in the halls chimed.  
>"Attention, all Decepticons. The Autobot Crystal has died today."<br>Starscream looked up in at the speakers in surprise. It had been a long time since an Autobot has died, naturally or by the servo of a Decepticon. He set the sparkling down and he walked out into the hall where the other Decepticons were murmuring skeptically.  
>"Hard to believe that that femme died," one said loud enough for Starscream to hear. "She was Prime's mate. Wonder if she got Cybonic Plague."<br>"Who was she?" Starscream heard another ask.  
>"She was a blue armored femme who seemed to be attached to Prime at the hip. She was found, according to rumor, in the same woods Nightshade was found."<br>Silence's voice from behind the listening Seeker spooked him. "It's just a rumor. Don't believe every story a mech whispers into your audio." She was holding the servos of her twin sons, Dreadwing and Skyquake.  
>"How do you know, Silence? You're the newest one on the Nemesis. How could you possibly know our rumors and stories?"<br>"When you say them loud enough for everyone to hear, you shouldn't be surprised when someone pitches in their ideas."  
>The mech grunted. "So what do you think?"<br>"I think that Crystal was born in a different forest than Nightshade, or born in a clearing with a couple trees. The Autobots are so stupid, her mother probably gave birth to her under an apple tree and said she was born in a forest."  
>Laughter broke out among the troops and some even nodded.<br>"And if she's dead? Who knows." Her voice sounded strained now to Starscream. "Now I have one less Autobot to gut out."

After the excitement of the dead femme died down, Starscream met up with Nightshade in the woods outside the Nemesis. It had not moved for a months now since the Energon deposit they were over was more extensive than they had previously thought. This forest was rich with their fuel source. They would not leave for another three months if they continued to find such large deposits.  
>"I was just thinking about the femme and if she's really dead," she whispered, as if she heard Starscream coming.<br>"She probably isn't. It's been a while since we've killed an Autobot." He hugged her hips. "What does she matter to you?"  
>She sighed, leaning against him. "She could be my sister," she whispered. "I found out about her recently and we don't remember a lot, but our stories are similiar and, well..."<br>"You listened to an Autobot? Do you know how many stories they make up every day to scare their sparklings into their faction?"  
>She nodded a bit. "I guess you're right. I put too much stock into what she was saying."<br>They flinched when they heard a sorrowful roar.  
>"NO!"<br>"That sounded like Optimus," Starscream said. He led Nightshade towards the screaming, curious. They watched as the Prime held onto a pale blue body while Ultra Magnus dug in the dirt. Ratchet tried to soothe the Prime while the forest seemed filled with Prime and Crystal look-alikes.  
>"How many kids did they have?" Starscream growled under his breath as he counted them up. He lost track after twelve. They all started to move and surround their father and dead mother.<br>Nightshade gasped and covered her mouth. Crystal had been gutted while she was alive. Her optics were wide open before Ratchet closed them. Ultra Magnus lowered her into the ground, the others holding Prime back. To ensure that the Prime would not dig her back up, the Wreckers pushed a large boulder over her grave and marked it with her name and the date.  
>"It was too soon, Primus! Too soon!" Optimus howled and shoved the warriors that held him back. He tried to push the boulder off, but it had taken six mechs to roll it over. Prime did not have the power of six mechs. He exhausted himself, then sunk to his belly and mewed like a lost sparkling for his mate.<br>"He's ruined," Starscream whispered to Nightshade, but she had moved on. "Nightshade, we have the advantage! Prime is done and they have two less Autobots that can fight."  
>"It's not right," she hissed. "They give us two days to recover each time we lose a mech. Remember when Cloudburst died? Optimus gave us Energon and his condolences. He loses his mate and you want to attack them right away?"<br>"You actually believe Crystal is your sister."  
>"I do!" She growled at him and ran back to the Nemesis.<p>

Starscream laid in his berth, staring up at the ceiling as he sighed. Nightshade had taken the sparklings back as soon as she got on board and hissed at him as her door slammed. He decided he would wait for her to come around so they could reconcile. When his door opened, he expected Nightshade, but had the shock of his life when he saw Megatron eyeing him. "Lord Megatron..."  
>"Starscream," he said.<br>Before the Seeker could protest, the warlord as on him and he could do nothing but lay with a servo clamped over his mouth.  
>When Megatron was finished with him, he let the Seeker up. "You will be my pet, Starscream. Congratulations. It is a great honor."<br>The stinging Starscream felt seemed to be the opposite of an honor, but the Seeker did not dare complain.

It became a regular thing for Starscream. He would patrol with Megatron every morning or so and the warlord would follow the Seeker to his quarters where he was laid on his belly and the larger mech would take him. Then the warlord got up and left him to clean up the mess. Nightshade was the only warrior that knew what was happening to him and she would help clean him up.  
>She looked up from applying ointment to his valve. He looked away, ashamed. "It's not your fault," she whispered. "He's abusing you."<br>"He's the warlord. I'm second-in-command. I cannot object." He hugged his knees and whimpered. "I wish when he did that, he'd do it to show he loves me...the way I love him." There. He said it. The secret was out. He was in love with the warlord. And now Nightshade, the femme he got pregnant, knew.  
>She just blinked her purple optics knowingly and stood, wiping her servos. "Then tell him next time he takes you. Maybe he will be gentler." She kissed his helm, smiling when he pulled her into a kiss.<br>"Thank you, Nightshade."  
>She touched his cheek. "Any time, my Seeker." She left him to rest and she blew him a kiss before the door closed between them.<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

Starscream laid back after Megatron was finished and just when the warlord walked out, the Seeker gathered enough courage to say it. "I love you, Megatron."  
>The larger mech stopped and looked at him. "I love you, too."<br>The Seeker purred and stood slowly, hugging the mech until he pushed him away. He smiled up at him and he told the whole story to Nightshade as she cleaned him up and treated his aching valve.  
>"I can't believe he loves me! He fragging loves me!"<br>She purred and smiled. "I think he loves fragging you, sweetspark," she whispered. The Seeker flipped over and saw that she had a jealous glint in her optics.  
>"You're totally jealous," he accused. He pulled away from her. "I can't be with you anymore. Our kids are growing up. We can't do this anymore. If someone finds out that the sparklings are ours..." He shook his helm. "I have to move on..."<br>She stood up and walked out, taking her bag of supplies with her. "Very well," she hissed.  
>Starscream growled into his pillow as he focused on falling asleep. He thought they were both going to pretend that their relationship had not happened for the sakes of their lives and the lives of their sons. He traced a heart onto his pillow with his talon. He loved Nightshade, but he loved Megatron more. He smiled to himself as he drifted off to sleep.<p>

It had been days since Starscream confessed his love to Megatron and every morning the warlord had fragged him mercilessly. Nightshade stopped checking up on him and his valve had begun to sting more and more each day. He considered stopping by in the MedBay, but he did not know who would be in there, so he instead worked on ignoring the pain.  
>That was about the time the Autobots raided the <em>Nemesis<em>.  
>He was in the storage room, counting off the supply of cubes when the explosion rattled him to his knees. He looked around and huddled into a ball when the mechs he recognised from the Wreckers raided the storage room. He tried to get up and run, but he tripped and knocked his helm against the floor. He scurried out of there on his belly, smacking into the legs of a tall mech he had no time to recognise.<br>The mech's arms scooped him up and held him against his chest. He cried out and whimpered, kicking and squirming. "Please let me go!"  
>"Shh, mech. It is alright. I will not harm you. Relax. Come with me and you will be safe."<br>The Seeker continued to cry out for Megatron, but the warlord did not come to his rescue. He continued to scream as the mech carried him out off the _Nemesis_ and into a semi trailer, where he curled into a ball and whimpered for the mech he loved.  
>The mech returned for him and Starscream saw it was Optimus Prime, the leader of the Autobots. He hissed at first, but the ache in his helm stopped him from continuing his warning.<br>"Do not fret, Starscream. We will take good care of you while you heal. Your injury was not part of the plan. It was those ridiculous heels that hurt you," he chuckled softly. "I told you to get those replaced."  
>Starscream closed his optics and let the Autobot leader lift him up. He remembered the Hall of Records and knocking his helm against the stairs to the entrance. A cheery face had told him the same thing before everything faded to black.<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

_Starscream looked up at the Iacon Hall of Records and he sighed, walking up the steps. He had been sent to pick up a document for his mother, a document that he could not remember the name of. He counted up the number of steps to the door and he groaned. What idiot could stand putting forty-two steps up to a building of documents that only matter to a few Cybertronians? He took the first half of the steps well, held his purple cape where it would not disturb his pace, walked with his helm held high...and then he saw the mechs._  
><em> They were an odd couple: a data clerk and a gladiator. The smallest one had to stand on his tip toes to kiss the silver mech, but they both seemed happy. They were fond of each other and Starscream felt a small prick of jealousy. The silver mech detached himself from the blue and red mech and walked down the steps easily.<em>  
><em> Of course, he did not possess the heels Starscream had.<em>  
><em> The Seeker went back to deciding how he was going to walk up the stairs and he took a step, but his heel was caught in the hem of his cape and everything went incredibly wrong incredibly fast. He found himself laying at the bottom of the steps, staring up at the face of the red and blue mech.<em>  
><em> "Are you okay? You took quite a fall." The data clerk scooped him up and guided him into the Hall. He sat him down in a swivel chair and retrieved a first-aid kit. "Don't move, okay?"<em>  
><em> He groaned at the sting of ointment and he looked down at the source. His hip had been scraped up and bruised.<em>  
><em> "That will leave a heck of a scar. Lie and say a mech threw you when people ask," the data clerk suggested, smiling up at him. "You shouldn't have to be humiliated by falling down those stairs."<em>  
><em> "What idiot made this building so impossible anyway?"<em>  
><em> The data clerk looked both shocked and amused at the same time. "Alpha Trion."<em>  
><em> "Of course. I've managed to insult the oldest mech alive by falling down his steps. Wonderful."<em>

Starscream slowly opened his optics and looked around, startled at the sight of the Prime watching him from his desk chair that was pulled up beside his berth. The Seeker found himself in Prime's quarters and he laid his helm back down. "Oh..."  
>"The MedBay is full," he whispered. "I thought that you would be more comfortable alone than having three, no two, medics hanging around you."<br>He nodded and sighed softly. His helm was a dull ache now and he felt he could walk. He sat up and the world became a smudged pallete of colors. Gentle servos guided him back down.  
>"No. I do not advise you walk yet, Starscream. That was very unwise of you."<br>"I have to get home," he whispered. "Megatron will be worried about me. He'll tear up this whole planet looking for me..."  
>"Yes, we were concerned you would be found. So far, there has been no activity from the Nemesis. We have damaged them beyond what they were prepared to fix."<br>"Well, it's dawn. You can't expect Megatron to order a patrol to come and fetch me. You'll have to give it a few days so he can spare a few mechs and-"  
>"You do not understand. You have been in self-induced stasis for three days. Megatron does not send out rescue missions to fetch his warriors. Do you not know that?" Optimus tipped his helm. "He does not value his mechs."<br>The Seeker stared at him. "It was just a helm wound..."  
>"It was more than that, my dear Seeker. Your processor was severely damaged from the impact. You went into stasis the moment I lifted you from my trailer."<br>Starscream closed his optics to keep the tears from rolling down his cheeks. "No. He does care."  
>"Starscream, when has he ever shown you one scrap of love?" he whispered. The Prime stood and touched his helm. "I shall return."<br>When the Prime had left, Starscream looked around as best as he could, finding a picture of Cybertron on the ceiling and several photos around the room of a growing family and a smiling blue femme. His optics closed slowly and the last thing he saw was Optimus sitting back in his desk chair.

_Starscream dreamed he was being held by Megatron and the warlord was nuzzling him the way the Seeker has always wanted._  
><em> I love you, the warlord whispered.<em>  
><em> I love you too, he purred and he gave the warlord a kiss. Then the larger mech got on top of him and the love was gone. Starscream begged for mercy, crying and pushing on the mech's chest. He saw Nightshade watching from the doorway, her talons clicking together slowly in time to each surge of pain.<em>  
><em> Then Megatron was gone and Optimus was kissing his neck, pain fading away and replaced by a feeling that Starscream had only dreamed about. He released a moan and looked to the doorway. This time, the blue femme he had seen buried was watching, her grey optics watching the mechs as her spark thrummed visably in her chest, reveiling that she was hollowed out and cleaned like a game animal.<em>  
><em> Starscream could not hold the scream any longer.<em>

"Hush, Starscream. It is just a nightmare. Just a nightmare, I promise." Strong arms were cradling him against a red chest, careful servos holding him like a sparkling. "I promise you it is a nightmare," he whispered.  
>Starscream woke up and looked up at Prime, whimpering at the memory of the dream. "I'm okay... I'm okay..."<br>"Good. You had woke up screaming and I was worried. You would not wake when I shook you. I thought you were dreaming at first, and then you started screaming." The Prime laid him back down and tucked him into the soft blankets.  
>The Seeker closed his optics and sighed softly. He looked up at the painting of Cybertron, the way it was before the war. Optimus followed his gaze and sighed.<br>"She painted that from my memories. She did not know what Cybertron looked like before I caused the war. She wanted my nightmares to stop..." He closed his mouth and looked down at his pedes. "Get some rest and dream brighter dreams, my dear Seeker. Recover quickly so you may return home."  
>Starscream watched Optimus walk away and he looked back up at the shining planet that had been his home. <em>But what if I do not wish to leave?<em>


	4. Chapter 4

Starscream stood with the help of Optimus after Ratchet decided he had recovered enough to attempt walking. It had been six days since he had last seen the Nemesis. The Autobots had taken great care of him, but most of his recovery was because Optimus never left his side more than a few minutes.  
>He looked up at the Prime and took the offered cube. He had never seen Optimus drink during his stay in the Prime's base. "Aren't you going to drink?"<br>"I already did this morning," he said. Starscream knew he was lying, but he did not point it out. He drank obediently and slowly crawled into the Prime's lap. "Starscream," he sighed.  
>"Shh." The Seeker kissed his jaw, purring softly. "I know you haven't been refueling after your mate died, Prime. You don't have to be strong for me. I won't tell anyone. I'm still mentally unstable and cannot return to the Nemesis."<br>The Prime looked down at him and Starscream saw sorrow in his blue optics. "I do not wish to talk about her."  
>Starscream sat up in his lap and kissed his jaw. "Then let me wipe her from your mind." The Seeker pushed the Prime on his back and kissed down his neck, hoping to stimulate some reaction by heating the mech up. He was not disappointed when the Prime growled and flipped him onto his belly, pressing his hot panel to the Seeker's aft.<br>"I am dominant," he rumbled, his still-gentle servos pressing him into the berth. Starscream let the Prime take him, surprised at his slow rhythm. The Prime was taking his time, more concerned about his partner than himself. He was the absolute opposite of Megatron and Starscream found himself enjoying the time he spent with the large mech.  
>He could not hold his cry of pleasure back when his climax came. Optimus filled his valve and pulled out, kissing the Seeker's armor cool. The Prime did not look up as the door opened and Ratchet took in the scene before him: Optimus and Starscream fully exposed, the Seeker panting heavily, and a puddle of fluid forming.<br>"Prime! I cannot believe you! You seriously fragged a weak patient? You could have killed him! Or severely damamged him! How could you of all mechs be so stupid?"  
>Starscream laid his helm down, purring under the Prime as he kissed his body. He blushed at the scene they made. He looked at Optimus and saw the Prime was smirking into the Seeker's silver armor. He looked up at the doorway as the door closed again with an angry huff from the medic.<br>"He is just concerned that I am rushing into another relationship so soon after the death of..." He grunted, pulling off the Seeker. "He is worried for me. And for you."  
>"Well, you tell him I'm fine." He rolled over and saw the Prime's optics move to the scar on his hip. Recognition crossed his face and the Prime dipped his helm to kiss it, earning a little mew from the Seeker.<br>"You did not listen to me about getting smaller heels, but did you lie and say a mech threw you?" He looked up at him, amusement filling his blue optics and for a minute Starscream saw Orion Pax again.  
>"I did. They all believed me."<br>The Prime chuckled and laid beside him, rubbing the Seeker's body down. "You should rest after an activity like that. Who knows? I might have damaged your processor more."  
>"And will that keep me here with you for a little while longer?"<br>Optimus grinned. "Maybe we should start up again, in that case."


	5. Chapter 5

Ratchet finished examining Starscream's helm, nodding softly. "You're free to go, Starscream. You are completely healed and ready for any activity." The medic made a face at Prime that caused the Seeker and the Prime to laugh together. Starscream had laid under Optimus ever since their first time together. Sometimes they fragged, and other times they just spoke of their past and their thoughts of each other. Prime never demanded anything from the smaller mech and Starscream knew it was love.  
>"I fragging love you, Prime," the Seeker had said. He had kissed along the Prime's jaw as the mechs finished together.<br>"I love you as well, my dear dear Seeker."  
>Optimus brought Starscream back to the present with a serious question in need of a serious answer. "Starscream, my dear, now that you are healed and capable of flight, you have a choice. Do you wish to remain here with me or return to your faction and Megatron?"<br>The Seeker looked up at him and bit his lip. He loved Prime, yes, but he missed the hot nights in the berth with his warlord. He shifted his gaze to his pedes and shrugged.  
>"I will give you till morning, my dear Seeker."<br>Starscream took his time thinking, walking outside and shuffling around by the pond that Prime's last mate had dug out with each of her beast modes. Koi and goldfish swam in happy circles, attracting the Seeker's attention. He watched them until he saw a curious sight: a blind femme facing his direction and giggling like she could see.  
>"Mommy made that," she said, skipping closer. She got close enough to the pond that Starscream got worried she would fall in. Before he could warn her, she skirted around the pond and dropped fish food into the water. The fish swarmed the pellets and she smiled. "Daddy said she was awake all night and all day to finish it for me before I could seperate from her spark."<br>The Seeker looked at her in surprise. "You were sparked?"  
>"Of course. How else do you think I became blind? Daddy said the bright light was so pure and unyeilding that he almost went blind himself. Ratchet is researching what the flash means, but Mommy told me it was because I was born with a special gift."<br>"And what gift was that?" Starscream leaned closer, expecting to hear some miraculous gift from Primus, or a curse from Unicron.  
>"She said I can see better than anyone." She purred and smiled, her cloudy optics looking up expectantly at the Seeker.<br>"You're mother was very..." He listed off adjectives to describe her, but settled on one that would not offend. "Wise..."  
>"Well, I hope you're happy, Starscream." She purred at him and skipped off again. Starscream rolled his optics, stopping when he saw a goldfish opening and closing its mouth at him.<br>"What are you looking at, fishface?" he spat. He walked behind the base, sighing and shaking his helm.  
>These Autobots are dillusional. I shall tell Optimus my stay with him was lovely, but I must return to the faction I was born in. I don't think I can bear to face that blind femme who "sees better than anyone" again! Fools! He thought of Optimus and sighed softly. Though he loved the Prime, he could not stay. He was a Decepticon, not a puny Autobot. He marched into base, confident with his answer.<br>And then he heard Optimus cry in his quarters.  
>"Oh, Crystal... I am so very sorry for what I have done, but he reminds me so much of you... I love you, Crystal... I always will... I promise... After all... Starscream is a Decepticon. He always will be and he will leave... I know he will..."<br>Starscream pushed open the door and chirped a greeting. "Primey?"  
>He looked up and purred softly up at him, hugging himself as tears rolled down his cheeks. "I have packed supplies for you for when you leave, my dear dear Seeker. I have even packed you a blanket. I heard it gets colder this time of the year... I do not want you to freeze before I can face you in battle once more." He gave a half-sparked wink.<br>He bit his lip and shuffled his pedes.  
>Here it comes, he knew. Here comes the moment of truth.<br>Does he pick the Prime who fragging loves him? The one that has never hurt him while they were together? The one that kisses him to sleep and kisses him awake?  
>Or does he pick the mech he's been dreaming about his whole life? The one that takes and does not give back?<br>He took an inhale and sighed. "I..."

TO BE CONTINUED~

/I know these have been shorter, but bear with me XD I write as it comes to me X3 Take breaks and

Also, I own nothing except Nightshade, Nighthawk, Silverwing, Crystal, and any of her creations with Optimus X3

Hope you are enjoying it all so far :3


	6. Chapter 6

Starscream looked up at the stars, wondering where Cybertron was from where he stood. He looked around and sighed happily, content in the choice he had made in mates. He circled around his home, making joyous loops and corkscrews in the air before he was called back to the ground.

"Time for bed," his mate called. Starscream landed obediently and nuzzled the mech's shoulder. Servos rubbed his helm and lips found his own. "Hello to you too."

"I'm glad I went out. The stars are beautiful tonight. You should see them."

"Their beauty is being eclipsed right now," he whispered. The two melted into a loving kiss and Starscream had to pull away so he could breathe. His mate chuckled lovingly and swept a digit down his cheek. "Need a breather, Seeker?"

"Just for a moment.." He took a deep breath, then exhaled. "And I'm good." The mates were interrupted by a whistle from another and the larger mech pulled away, chuckling.

"Let us get out of here."

Starscream blinked in surprise, then chased the mech outside and away from their home. He watched as his mate stretched under the stars and he could not help but admire the gleaming armor reflecting the beautiful light of the stars and the beams from the moon. He chewed on a talon and his mate stood in front of him, chuckling. "Find something you like?"

"Just all of you," he purred. He let servos explore his body and he held onto the taller mech for support when the touches became rough and needy. The Seeker was laid under the stars and the two set about satisfying each other for the other's amusement.

Knowing servos found Seeker wings and talons found sensitive hips. An audio-nip was rewarded with an aft-squeeze. Neck cords were nibbled and licked with exploring glossas before the larger mech whispered into the Seeker's audio.

"Only if you want it, my dear."

Starscream looked deep into blue optics, not red orbs, and nodded. "I do if you do."

"You know I always seek to please my love," Optimus purred. He did just that and he earned Starscream's climax and he pressed his lips to the Seeker's neck. He kissed down the Seeker's slender body and chuckled when his mate begged for more. "My dear, you cannot handle more." He kissed the Seeker's knee down to his pede, then gave the Seeker a loving kiss. "I love you, but not enough to hurt you by using you."

"You're not using me," the Seeker protested, but it might as well have been a mew. The Prime did not seem to hear him. "You're showing me more love than Megatron did."

"Do not compare us. You don't know what he has been through," he whispered. "I took his dreams away from him and he is repaying the favor by not leaving us alone."

Starscream watched the Prime's shoulders drop, then Optimus became his usual self. He scooped Starscream up and kissed his neck, laying the Seeker in a soft pile of moss and sweet-scented flowers. "Sleep here. It is warm here and I will be here."

The mates laid together, their limbs knotted together. There was no tearing them apart now. There was no way they could seperate. Starscream was happy where he was and Optimus had never been happier since his last mate. He had found his other half to fix his broken spark and he swore to protect his new mate. He was honored that the Seeker had chosen him over Megatron, when he himself would have picked the warlord, but according the Starscream, the large mech's views on love was twisted and warped, like metal left in the forge too long and poured out too quickly.

The Prime suspected he had done that and Starscream insisted that it was not his fault. Many factors can break a mech's spark. Optimus was just another factor among dozens of others.

When Starscream woke up, he found himself safely tucked against Optimus' chest. He found the Prime watching him and he gave him a good morning kiss. The Prime laid like that for hours, his comm link deactivated for the first time in years. Starscream held Optimus' face and kissed him again.

They kissed for several more minutes and they stayed until Bulkhead was sent to retrieve them. The Autobots surprised them both with claps and cheers. Optimus looked embarrassed as he hugged his oldest friend, Ratchet. "You should not have done this."

Ratchet ignored him and turned to the Seeker. "Thank you for finally hauling him up off his aft. He has been moping around too long. I hope he keeps you. You do a lot for him."

Starscream threaded his digits through Optimus'. "Of course. I can't leave the little Prime to fend for himself. That would be sparkless."

Optimus looked down at him and pressed a kiss to his forehelm. "This whole time, I had believed I was saving you from your master. It turns out you have saved me from myself. I ask you to stay with me, Starscream, as long as we possibly can. I will treat you like the Prince you were on Cybertron."

Starscream touched the Prime's cheek and swept his thumb under his sincere optic. "Of course I'll stay with you. It would be an honor to be loved by a Prime." He bit his lip and kissed the Prime.

In front of the entire Autobot base.

Only one Autobot did not cheer.

Arcee.

And she looked angry, but a nudge from Ultra Magnus made her clap and flash a little smile.

Starscream knew this would happen. He would have to win everyone's respect and trust, the way he had won Optimus' and Ratchet's. He smiled at everyone and kissed Optimus again, pulling away too early for the Prime. He pouted, earning another kiss.

"If you kiss like that, you two will be welded that way," Wheeljack teased. He had his digits knotted with Bulkhead's in a subtle way.

Prime looked over at Ratchet, grinning. "I do not think Ratchet would keep us like that for long. He would be the first to pull us apart."

"Think logically, Prime. How could you two being eternally kissing be of any use to us?"

Starscream yanked the Prime into another kiss. "It would be beneficial to me."

The Autobots chuckled around them and Starscream found his home among the enemy. Though he was a Decepticon, he never really belonged there. He hungered for the family the Decepticons did not have. Leaving the Decepticons in favor of the Autobots was a betrayal to the faction he went to in the beginning of the war, but he was at home in the Autobot family.

He did not want to leave.


End file.
